Is the just released iOS 4.1 beta reporting fewer bars in more places, just like Apple said their next iOS update would? That's what we're hearing... but not (just?) on iPhone 4 -- iPhone 3GS as well.
iPhone 4 has better reception in better signal areas, worse reception in worse signal areas when "death gripped", and we're hearing that's holding true under iOS 4.1, but again the signal is being reported "better". You see fewer bars in low signal areas, so you have a better idea what will happen if touching it in the lower left hand corner -- it might drop off completely.
But iPhone 3GS? Well on iOS 4 had 5 bars in location x. Same location on iOS 4.1 it's reporting 4 bars when on the table, 3 bars when picked up, and 2 bars when "death gripped".
Here's a vastly over simplified analogy: imagine iOS 4 was a school that gave anyone (any iPhone) who scored over 20% an A (5 bars). iOS 4.1 would be a much stricter school where you had to get an 80% for that A (5 bars.
Reader comments
iOS 4.1 - Fewer bars in more places?
I was confused over this whole signal lark. Here's a good article however which deals with the issue and a bit of reality vs user perception:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-4...
Hope that helps.
@sommerface
I agree, Apple is moving too fast but only because Google decided to COPY THE IPHONE UI, which is patented I might add, and give it away to everyone for FREE...Whatever happened to that Apple lawsuit with HTC?
@Rene Ritchie - Why is this article written like it's a surprise that iOS 4.1 shows the bars differently on the 3GS too? The letter Apple wrote said that since the original iPhone, they've all been displaying the signal bars incorrectly, so any iPhone that gets 4.1 will likely show fewer bars in more places.
@SteveC I've tried field test mode on 4.0 too, and it doesn't work anymore. I don't understand why Apple would disable it, unless they were purposely trying to keep us from seeing the real signal strength.
Minor issue, probably a bad batch. If this were affecting 1.7+ million iPhone users, sh*t would be hitting the fan. It's just a noisy group of anti-Apple fanatics blowing it out of proportion.
I'm fine with all the bars being the same height. Really, the bars are communicating how "strong" the signal is. Having both a height and a number of bars is redundant. The same level of information is communicated by just showing the number of bars correlated to signal strength.
But whatever, people are trying to derive cellular performance through a "linear" bar indicator. That's just stupid. I have two iPhone 3GS phones (a personal and a work one). There have been uncounted times where one 3GS would have 4/5 bars and the other would have no signal to 1/2 bars. Then 10 minutes later, they'd switch!
I'd like them to go all technical and show the S/N values and if possible, a load indicator on the tower. Be nice to see which band too.
There is a "*" at the begining and end of that number I posted above!
It really annoys me that after my 4.0 update, field test dialing has been disabled. I would have loved to be able to look at the actual numbers and compare them to the signal strength reported by iOS! Maybe it works for some of you, but it doesn't for me - Give it a shot:
3001#12345#
so does this mean where I would usually get three bars, i will be getting one? at the same speeds of the 3 for data??? this makes no sense!! Reworking the bars does not fix the issue here, it's going to make everyone hate on at&t even more!!! that's all, Apple is deliberately pointing fingers at at&t saying it's their problem, when it really isn't, it's the damn PHONE!!!
The new bar display is fugly. I guess eventually we'd all get used to it. Antenna issue is irrelevant to me anyway as I'd have to be in an area where I'd get one or 2 bars consistently.
Is Apple releasing too much at once (ex. iPad, new iPhone every year, etc.)? Maybe they should slow down. hmmm...
Basically apple lowered the bars to attempt to mask the antenna problem. So it appears you didnt death grip it but it was ATT fault. Its completely bogus. Anyone who beleives this update fixes the issue is either not educated or lives in a cave.
THERE IS NO ANTENNA ISSUE!
"Here’s a vastly over simplified analogy: imagine iOS 4 was a school that gave anyone (any iPhone) who scored over 20% an A (5 bars). iOS 4.1 would be a much stricter school where you had to get an 80% for that A (5 bars."
So the school was fiddling the figures to make itself look better against other schools which required 80% for an A.
And then when it's discovered it's all a convenient mistake. Sorry but Apple must pay the worst coders if they didn't realise that mistake. We know they don't employ the worst coders, so it must have been deliberate.
Now they have an antenna issue that is over emphasised by the scoring, there was a mistake all along.
Why does it not happen with the top bar?!?!?!
Nobody can answer that question, it's NOT an antenna issue else it would happen there...
Mine doesn't drop bars no matter how I hold it or what hand it's in. Maybe if yours doesn't work you should return it and try a new one?
For me, the proximity sensor issue is more troublesome.
Not going to say there's no problem , cause there definitely is, but my iPhone has had 0 issues. Probably cause of my case. But seriously , best phone / device I've ever owned.
Lucky me I guess
@ Techfan
Got your point. Agree.
@Raul
If that's your answer... good for you. Just saying, what better way to force apple to address the problem than to stop buying the products? As long as you keep buying the crap product (over 1.7 mil I believe) there's no incentive for a company to act.
Chill out.
Apple press conference this Friday!
I don't have issues but I'm loving this controversy.
My ladies razor 2 is rock solid everywhere we go!!! Only my stupid iPhone 4 jumps all over the place!! They have everything down pact but the f'in phonecalling feature!! AT&T is not to blame for all this!! It has always been an issue for apple since the first iPhone. They have to take lessons from other antena engineers cause the engineers they have are useless!!
@techfan
I did return it. I went back to my 3G. Yes, I'd rather use my 3G rather than anything Android or BB offers!
Breaking news: Software update does exactly what Apple said it would! Film at 11!
Bah hit submit too fast. The above should of course read
"The point of the link was that Apple frequently shows positions where the band would be covered against skin during normal use, so band covering positions cannot be too uncommon or too uncomfortable, as others here have claimed."
@ Techfan
So instead of Apple fixing the iPhone people should just change platforms? You should apply for a job at Apple's PR team.
@Ralph
Ummm...I am quite aware of that. Look up at my comment #12. The point of the link was that Apple shows positions where the band would be covered against skin during normal use, so band covering positions cannot be too uncommon or comfortable, as others here have claimed. If you insist on being pedantic, go to 1:26:00 on Jobs keynote -- the first random spot I found, and where he holds the phone with the left band area against his palm, covering the band.
Of course, if you find a disclaimer on the ads or the keynote where Apple says "only hold this way when on WiFi" I am happy to retract the above :)
@copy of dev
Those are using facetime which is on Wifi so gripping it would be irreleveant. The issue is when on 3G.
Bars again? If the signal drops when you bridge the gap. That's a flaw. They still haven't fix anything. It's still a bad apple..
an honest question: iPhone 4 owners with problems and unhappy with apple's response, why not simply return it and get a different phone? android, bb, etc.
@Faulkner2391
Holding it in your left hand, not gripped in by the edges of the fingertips but resting against your palm, is a natural way to hold the phone, and it is enough to bridge that gap. But don't take my word for it...take Apple's:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/ads.html
In 4 of Apple's 5 iPhone 4 ads, ("Meet Her", "Haircut", "Big News", and "Facetime"), people grip the phone in that manner. (When they hold the phone sideways, they manage to cover the band in a different position.) Jobs even held it that way himself during the keynote, so it can't be all that uncommon or uncomfortable...
@Chris M. It's not that your iPhone is any different than anyone else's, it's that you're in a strong signal area. There's no BS involved, are you not paying attention? Try not to be so self-centered; there are other people in this world, ya know?
If Apple think that this update will fix their PR disaster, they have something else coming...
"Guess what, we have been lying about the strength of the AT&T network for years!"
I'm all for better signal reporting, but I guess they are between a rock and a hard place - Either expose themselves as signal strength liars, or damage the iPhone 4 reputation further.
Sadly this will not solve their iPhone 4 reputation - even though this is an awesome piece of hardware (except for the antenna).
Warning to Apple...This is not a fix. You must fix the HARDWARE problem now or else you will have your very own Vista on your hands!
My Android fans at work are just laughing at me...Come on Apple, support your fans. Boy do I hate Google now. I changed all the hosts files at work so that when they go to Google, it goes to Bing....
Boy I feel bad for AT&T now. As for the phone, I can replicate the issue depending on where I am located. When I'm at home "boom" zeeeeero bars no calls when holding wrong. When I'm at work 4 bars no matter how I hold the phone. I don't understand it really but there's definitely a problem.
Sick of the freaking death grip. Mine doesn't do it. Even if it did, to bridge the antennae would be a very uncomfortable way to hold the phone. Who is holding their phone that way? Shut up!
@Chris. Or you can shut the hell up with your bs. The problem is real people are tellingthe truth. Not everyones phones work as wonderful as yours.
UnixVrules I do remember that and had brought that up before in other blogs. I doesn't really matter to me as I was going to put a case on my white iPhone 4 any ways. My son with his iPhone 4 in a case has had no problems!
Basically Apple made their operating system show more bars in more places. Now that it makes the death grip more pronounced and dramatic they are going to show a better correlated signal bar. This was obvious to anyone with a non iPhone on ATT who also had an iphone. Do I believe Apple pumped up the bars on purpose, hell yeah. Liars
@Chris M.
Perform this simple test:
1) Go get the speedtest or FCC apps on your iPhone 4.
2) Place your iPhone4 on a table, without a case, and turn WiFi off. (On a table so the position, orientation, and other things besides the test finger do not change between test runs.)
3) Run the speedtest app, record the numbers.
4) Hold your finger firmly against the gap in the bands on the lower left, and wait at least 10-15 seconds.
5) Run the speedtest app again, keeping your finger pressed against the gap the entire time.
6) Lather, rinse, repeat as often as you like to confirm your results.
If you are in an area with 5 strong bars, you might not see any difference. If you are in a weaker area, you will see significant speed reduction. At my work, it is not too bad, but at my home, where I typically only have ~2 bars, my uncovered ~1.0m speed drops to 0.0 when I cover the area, and the test times out. Several friends have reproduced it at my house on their iPhone 4s, every single time; I have yet to see an iPhone 4 NOT fail in this 2-bars area.
Again, in my day-to-day use, in a case, I have yet to have a problem with this, or at least no more drops than I had with my old 3G. But the issue itself is real.
Retina display + those shiny new signal bars, almost makes me forget all about making phone calls and using 3G on the iPhone.
I think they super imposed it yeah!
I'm Jason masters and iPhone bumpers was my idea!
The algorithm they're changing affects the top end (i.e., what it means to have a strong signal). You'll have fewer bars indicating you have a strong signal. This has nothing to do to stop weak signals no the bottom end (which is hardware and network hardware).
As for people calling iPhone 4 users with antenna issues liars, they can go to hell. I've had an iPhone 4 since day. I went from having no reception at home on my 3G to full reception, but when I pick up my phone - no matter how i hold it - the bars slowly disappear til the call drops.
No one person's experience trumps another's. If you're a very strong signal area, kudos to you - you're lucky. STFU and go into a weak signal area, and you'll see that whereas a 3G or 3GS could sustain that signal to make a call, the iPhone 4 simple ditches the signal all together.
The phone is flawed.
Icebike it can be proven if u get speedtest app and do 2 test one with out death grip and the other with and u will see a huge diffrence as i have
Here's what I think -- Apple is reversing the "enhancement" that they made in iphone os 2.x timeframe. Anyone remember when they had an issue with the new 3G and a "software" fix was put in place. That's where they "pumped up" the signal strength bars. I think they are undoing that now.
Apple said they were changing the algorithm they use to calculate signal strength as they "got it wrong" from day one. That means it will affect EVERY handset.
I'm betting Chris M is in a strong signal area. Go watch the Videos Chris.
This story confused me.
But the question is, when you death-grip, bridge the antenna gap, does the iPhone4 drop more than the iPhone 3gs? And does the data rate slow down.
Is s simple finger enough to drop signal as shown in some of the Videos?
So my iPhone 4 MUST be pretty strong, b/c this "death grip" is crippling my signal AT ALL. I'm so tired of hearing about the BS. Stop the LIES people!! Or else, this "death grip" phenomenon must have skipped my phone fortunately.
Rene ur the man iam seein way lower bars now its killin me because my 3gs gets full bars where my new 4 gets 2 which before 4.1 was full bars whyyyyyyy apple